SAS, Pilot Unions Cut Deal To End Strike

SAS and its pilot union signed a salary agreement on Monday, July 18, 2022, ending a strike over a new collective bargaining agreement that had grounded hundreds of flights and thrown the airline's future into question.

Photo Insert: The majority of SAS pilots in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway walked off the job on July 4, resulting in a strike that cost SAS between $94 million and $123 million per day, according to the airline.

The majority of SAS pilots in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway walked off the job on July 4, resulting in a strike that cost SAS between $94 million and $123 million per day, according to the airline.

A representative for Dansk Metal, one of the unions representing SAS pilots, told Reuters, "What I'm hearing from the negotiation room is that we have a deal." However, the agreement has yet to be confirmed.

SAS Chairman Carsten Dilling told the Swedish business daily Dagens Industri, "We have a deal, now we are just getting the last signatures."

Jan Levi Skogvang, another union leader, described the settlement as a "tragedy for pilots,” the Norwegian daily Dagbladet reported. “But it is good that we are done with this and that we get the planes in the air again," he added.

Meanwhile, SAS confirmed in a statement that no agreement had been reached. "While the mediation has moved in the right direction, no agreement has yet been signed between the two parties," the airline said.

Unfortunately, even with the end of the strike, the long-struggling airline faces significant obstacles as it must cut expenses and recruit new investors in order to continue.

The labor dispute was the most recent in Europe's aviation industry, where millions of workers are struggling with growing expenses of living, causing trade unions to seek bigger salary rises and stage walkouts, further disrupting travel.

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